Reference values for urinary protein, albumin, beta 2-microglobulin, and the alpha 1-microglobulin-to-creatinine ratio in Japanese children.

Background: The importance of the ratio of creatinine to urinary protein, albumin, and low-molecular weight protein as a urinary marker in chronic kidney disease patients is widely recognized. However, no reference values have hitherto been established for these markers in Japanese children. The present study aimed to establish the reference values for these urinary markers in Japanese children.

Long-term morbidity of IgA nephropathy in children evaluated with newly proposed remission criteria in Japan.

Background: The long-term outcome of pediatric IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is unclear. Objective IgAN remission criteria were proposed by the Japanese Society of Nephrology in 2013.

Methods: Children with newly developed IgAN followed for >5 years were analyzed.

Renovascular hypertension due to bilateral renal artery stenosis treated with stent implantation in a 12-year old girl.

Renovascular hypertension (RVH) in children is a relatively rare disease, but it is important in that it is a treatable condition when properly diagnosed. Percutaneous transluminal renal angioplasty (PTRA) with or without stenting is widely applied to adult patients with RVH. However, limited information is available as to PTRA with stenting in pediatric patients.

C1q nephropathy in a 2-year-old boy presenting with steroid resistant nephrotic syndrome.

We experienced a case of a 2-year-old boy, who presented with steroid resistant nephrotic syndrome, which developed insidiously. Renal biopsy revealed that he had focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis on light microscopy, dominant mesangial deposition of C1q by immunofluorescent staining, and electron dense deposits on electron microscopy, which are all compatible with C1q nephropathy. He had no clinical sign of any collagen diseases, including systemic lupus erythematodes.